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Hello everyone,
In line with this week’s topic, here is a short article to introduce some common Australian sweets and highlight associated and related idioms. Dig in!
Australian sweets
While Australia is a multicultural country with foods from all over the world, we do have some delicious snacks and sweets which are special to the “sunburnt country”. (Note: Many of these foods are shared with our New Zealand cousins too!)
- ANZAC Cookies – A sweet biscuit made using rolled oats, flour, sugar, butter (or margarine), golden syrup, baking soda and boiling water. A recipe is here https://www.recipetineats.com/anzac-biscuits-golden-oatmeal-cookies/
- Pavlova - a meringue-based cake with a crisp crust and soft, light inside. See here for more information https://www.recipetineats.com/pavlova-recipe/
- Minties - hard white, chewy, rectangular and mint-flavoured, which on chewing become so sticky that they are notorious for causing dental fillings to come out! See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minties
I wouldn’t be doing ourselves justice, if I didn’t take this chance to showcase the richness and playfulness of the English language by pointing out some food related idioms!
- To be a tough cookie = to be strong physically and mentally
- To be as nutty as a fruitcake = to be crazy. (Note: Australians also say “to be a few sangas (sandwiches) short of a picnic” or “a few beers short of a six pack” for a crazy person)
- To be a piece of cake = to be easy to do (ie. a task)
Catch you ‘round like a rissole!
Cheers.
Tim Ar.
Tim Ar.
2025年 6月 11日
That's a great question. Thanks, Tim. I really appreciate you taking the time to connect with me on this (hehe).
ANZAC is the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. It refers to Australian and New Zealand soldiers who have served or died in wars. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_and_New_Zealand_Army_Corps
Tim Ar.
2025年 6月 11日
Thank Tim. That's interesting. I noticed that you use the word "ANZAC" in your column. What does that mean?